Taurie Kinoshita is Artistic Director of the Hawai'i Conservatory of Performing Arts and Education Director for the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival.  She has directed over 130 shows across two continents and holds a Master of Fine Arts in directing Western Theatre. Taurie was awarded the Lucie Bentley Award for Excellence in Acting, the Inouye Award for Excellence in Playwriting, honored with five Po'okelas for directing by the Hawaii State Theatre Council and was honored with the Francis Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the Kennedy Festival American College Theatre Festival, Region 8 award for Excellence in Theatre Education, the Meritorious Lecturer Award, the Kennedy Center Gold Medallion, one of the highest honors in educational college theatre, and most recently the Hawaii State Theatre Council's Lifetime Achievement Award.  She is proudest of her students' wild success, has cats named Gallahad and Sabina, and has been a vegetarian since she was 8 (when she had a dream cows were eating her.) She is an unabashed francophile.